An urgent action from the ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION concerning three indigenous Papuans who were arbitrarily arrested, tortured and who are currently waiting for an uncertain justice. The appeal below. The AHRC makes kit easy for people to respond to the appeal with sample letter etc.

————-
Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a local network in Papua regarding the arbitrary arrest and torture of three indigenous Papuans, namely ElieserAwom (26), Yafeth Awom (18) dan Soleman Yom (24). They were arrested by four police officers in plain clothes at 11 pm in Deplat, Base-G Jayapura. The police officers drove the three men in a silver car in the direction of West Sentani. On the way they were tortured, intimidated and forced to admit that they had stolen a motorcycle.

CASE NARRATIVE:

On 27 Augsut 2015, four police officers in plain clothes arbitrarily arrested three Papuan men named Elieser Awom (26), Yafeth Awom (18) dan SolemanYom (24) in Deplat, near the Base G Beach in Jayapura, Papua province. The arrest was not carried out in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure (KUHAP), because they had no arrest warrant or clear evidence of the involvement of the victims in a criminal offence.

At 11 am, Yafeth, Elieser and Soleman were walking from the mini market near BLK (Work Training Center) to their homes. On the way, a silver Toyota Avansa was seen parked nearby. As the three men were walking, four police officers approached them and forced them to enter their car. They did not produce an arrest warrant letter. One of the police officers wore the trousers of his police uniform (celana Dinas) and carried a gun while the other officers wore civilian clothing and carried a knife and a revolver.

Inside the car the police officers beat the victims, tortured them with a lighted cigarette and forced them to confess their involvment in a motorcycle theft…….

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta -Deputy Foreign Minister Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir denied that the Foreign Ministry has imposed a ban against foreign journalists from entering Papua to cover human rights cases. According to Fachir, journalists can enter Papua regardless of reporting material. "There is no ban," said Fachir on Wednesday, January 13, 2016.

Fachir said that foreign journalists will be treated like state guest. For example, the journalists will be questioned about their purpose of visit and whom they will meet during their stay in Indonesia. "But there is no supervision or ban," said Fachir.

Previously, French journalists Cyril Payen was barred from entering Papua after his documentary titled ‘Forgotten War of the Papua‘ was broadcasted on October 18, 2015. Later on November 2015, Payen was declared as a persona non grata and was forbidden to enter West Papua although President Joko Widodo had already revoked the ban on May 2015.

Last year, two French journalists, Thomas Dandois and Valentine Bourrat, were sentenced to prison after they were caught trying to make a documentary about separatist movement in West Papua.

The deaths of 55 children in Mbuwa district, Nduga regency, Papua, between November 2015 and January have been attributed to pertussis, or whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory disease.

“Based on the results of lab tests conducted by the Health Ministry the minister has announced that the deaths of the children in Mbuwa were due to pertussis,” said Papua Health Office head Aloysius Giay in Jayapura on Tuesday.

The illness continues to infect children in Mbuwa. Papua People’s Assembly (MPR) member Luis Madai said five children had reportedly died from the disease between the end of December last year and early this month.

“Based on the report from the Nduga Health Office, 55 children died of the disease. The latest report stated that five more children died from the end of December to early January this year,” said Madai.

Since the deaths were reported in Mbuwa, the Health Ministry, the Papua Health Office and children’s welfare groups have made strenuous efforts curb the outbreak. –